Strip shingle



Oct. 22, 1929. w, is ET AL 1,732,403

STRIP SHINGLE Filed March 12, 1925 Z144 wfldaw w i Patented Oct. 22, 1929 UNITED. STATES 'PATE NT' OF FICE WILLIAM 1. wars, on nos'ron, massaonusnr'rs, AND HENRY n. FRENCH, or aurnnnronn, new RSEY s rnir snmenn Application filed Mai-ch12, 1925, Serial No. 14,880.

This invention hasfor its object to provide a new form of strip shingle which may be laid with othersin overlapplng rows to simulate laterally spaced individual roofing units, to provide a new and pleasing design or eifect,

I and to secure a maximum amount of protec tion with a minimum amount of roofing material for a given area,-say one hundredsquare feet of roof surface; and also to pro-' m vide amethod of producing'such strips with a minimum amount of waste material. On the accompanying. drawing, Fi re 1 shows how the strip shingles are cut rom a sheet of roofing material.

Figure 2'shows oneof the strip shingles embodying our invention.

Figure 3 shows a portionof aroof covering composed of our strip shingles.

It should be preliminanly stated that the m roofing material er 'se comprises ,a fibrous base composed of rag or asbestos felt saturated or impregnated with as halt or equivalent bituminous water-proo com ound or composition, coated on oneor both aces with as a layer of high melting point asphalt, -e. g. air blown asphalt-*and preferably surfaced with a partially embedded layer of crushed slate or other mineral of the desired, color or combination of colors. Of course, there may M be added an under layer of either impreg-v nated or unimpregnated asbestos felt or paper cemented in place by an intervening layer of pitch or asphalt. Sheet roofing thus formed is sufliciently flexible to be wound into a roll, and by a suitable machine may be cut into stri shingles or individual shingles.

In or er that proper protection against wind, rain, melted snow and ice be afforded, a roof covering composed of individual shinglee should be so'laid that the shingles in one row should be overlapped by the shingles of at least the next two superimposed rows.

This is true likewise of strip shingles having alternating notches and tabs or projections, since the body of the strip in line with a notch therein should be overlapped by a shingle of I the next higher row, to an extent of at least six inches; and the upper edge portion, between the notches, should be overlapped by no the shingle of the second higher row to the extent of at least two inches. In order to secure this result and at the same time so to form the strip shingles as to necessitate the use of the smallest quantity of roofing inaterial without material waste in their format-ion, and to secure a pleasin efiect,'we have invented the strip shingle s own on the a/ccompanying drawin and now to be de scribed, and the method by which it is produced. I

The shingle is formed by cutting a sheet of roofing material, such as hereinbefore de-;

scribed. Such a sheet is at least about eighteen inches in width; or'preferably a multiple of eighteen inches in width, e. g. thirtysix, fifty-four, or seventy-two inches, so that byv lengthwise cutting, there may be produced two, three, or more sections which are longitudinal of the sheets from which they are produced. Each section has a greatest width of approximately eighteen inches. As illustrated in Figure 1, the sheet which isthere shown, is approximatelv thirty-six inches wide, is slit longitudinall by. a straight cut 6 midway between its e ges into two sections a a each eighteen inches wide. Each section is longitudinally cut to produce two strips, h 7:, each of which has a maximum width of ten inches, and these strips are cut crosswise at intervals to form shingle strip so unitsof the desired length. This is accomplished by forming in each section a a, two parallel'longitudinal rows of transverse slots e e separated by an longitudinal zone (defined by the dotted lines f-f, g in the middle of the section,-the slots 0 one row being staggered in reference to the slots of the other row,- -and cutting the section longitudinally along a zig-zag line 0 which extends back: and forth across the zone from a slot 00 in one row to'thenext succeeding slot in the adjacent row: .From the end of a slot in one strip thus formed, a transverse cut is made to the straight edge of the strip, as indicated at d, to sever the strip into shingle '95 stri" units. These transverse cuts may be ma e from every second, third or fourth slot, according to the desired length of the units. Of course the transverse out d for severing the strip h, is out of line with that for sevan the obtuse angle portions 8, 8, which exbe perpendicular to the straight edges of the strip or at an angle thereto as may be desired.

the open mouths of the notches.

The order in which the operation of slitting, slotting, zig-zag cutting and transverse severing are performedis not material, for they may be performed in any desired order or simultaneously by suitable instrumentalities. By the process as herein described a plurality of shingle strip units is formed from the sheet of material, which are identical, one with the others. Each unit 1 has an upper straight longitudinal edge2, and a lower marginal portion with alternating parallel-side notches 4 and tabs 3' which project beyond The tabs or projections of one unit are identical with the tabs or projections of every other unit, and their projecting portions are complemental to the spaces between the projecting portions of thetabs of the other units,this being secured by the zig-zagcut 0, shown inFigure 1.

unit is about two inches deep (crosswise of the strip) and-preferablyirom one-fourth of an inch to an inch in width, with parallel sidewalls, and the centers of the notches are spaced p'referabl from ten to eighteen inches apart. As 5 own the centers are spaced twelve inches apart. The upper wall cent notches, and hasa lower edge of each tab in the form shown in Figures 2 and 3, comprising amiddle straight portion 7 which me be equal in width to one of the slots,

;.t en d fromjthe lower ends of the parallel sides ff 6,6o'f the notches to the ends of the middle portion 7. Each tab is of an extreme depth from th'e'llower ed eportion .2 to a line, in-

dicatedat j, j, coincident with the upper walls of aboutib jiii inches (crosswise of the strip) 5, 5 of the notches. Each 'stripinay have two,

three, or four such tabs, or a greater number if desired; and the strips may be increased in width with thevsame approximate relative proportions between the depth 9f the tabs and the total width of the shingle strips. Three-tab ten-inch shingle strips, such as herein illustrated and described, are'produced from a sheet without waste except for the punchings or cuttings formed in making the ,1 slots 6. This is ap 'arent from Figure 1, for

thestrip it, there s own, is complemental to strip 11 of the same section a (or a as the case may be). Hence, although the section may be only eighteen inches in width, the two strips into which it is out have a maximum width of ten inches each.

When the strips are laid upon a roof in As shown, each notch of a shingle strip rows or courses as shown in Figure 3, the lower middle edges 7 of the tabs of one strip register with the edges 5 of the preceding overlapped next lower strip, all said edges being of the same length, so that that part of each shingle overlapped by the tabs is covered to a maximum depth of six inches. The registration of the edges 7 of the tabs with the end edges 5 of the notches of the strips of a previously laid course insures the perpendicular alinement of the notches on the roof. Each strip is likewise overlapped by a strip of the second higher row or course to a maximum depth of two inches,the tabs or projections of the alternate rows or courses being in alinement. The exposed portions of the spaced tabs of the shingle stri s shown in Figures 1 to 3 present substantial y the appearance of eight-sided or octagonal figures, four of whose sides are of equal length, and which if extended would form diamonds whose horizontal major axes are more than twice (nearly two and one-half times) the vertical minor axes. The geometrical figures have horizontal axes nearly double the length of the vertical axes.

By the use of ten-inch shingle strips laid with a maximum overlap of six inches, and with each shingle strip overlapped by the strips of the two next higher horizontal rows or courses, one hundred s uare feet of surface may be covered and a equately protected by two hundred twenty-five feet of roofing material,-including the waste produced in forming the slots 6 and consequently the notches 4.

In addition to the economy afforded by the covering power of the shingle strips described, there are additional advantages inherent in shingles of this configuration. As hereinbefore set forth, the invention cspecinb ly contemplates roofing units made of as shalt saturatkdand coated felt, the coating eing covered by a protective layer of crushed slate or its equivalent. Such material is semiflexible, especially in warm weather, so that shingle-simulating tabs, which are usually held fiat on the roof largely by the 'stiifness shingle. Strip shingles embodying the present invention tend to overcome or minimize these difliculties. The liability of the tabs to be raised by wind is greatly reduced both by reason of their relative avers e shortness from the natural line of bend w en the elements are in place en a roof, and the relatively long line of bend in comparison with lOO ill

tlitll all - titl till areaeoa the area of the exposecl tab. lt is obvious that, other factors being e eel, the shorter the average length out tab trom the line all natural benol, the less Will be the leverage allorolecl to the pressure at WlllCl unoler the tabv anal that the longer the line at bench the more material there will be on the line oil bending to oppose the bending. Hence the invention results in a strip shingle -Which lies tlat on the root and is far more ditfioult to raise by wind pressure than other tabs out the same eztposeol area. At the same time the life of the shingle is prolongeol by the absence ot any exposed angles less than obtuse.

"We shoulcl not regard it as a departure from our invention it the strip shingles herein rlescribecl vvere coaterl With metal, as, tor instance. with electrolytically deposited copper or with molten ainc applierl in some suit able, manner,

W hat We claim is:

A strip shingle aolaptedl to be laidl with others in overlapping-courses, having a reotangnlar bocly anrl a number of shinglesimulating tabs extending downwardly theretrom sairl shingle having narrovv slots therein separating saiol tabs, each saiel tab having a width at its line ot juncture with the hotly substantially more than tvvice as great as its (lepth anol a depth approximately twice the length oi one at said slots, each said tab having a lovver portion projecting belovv the lovver ends oil said slots, and having tvvo etlges converging" at an obtuse angle and connectecl by a horizontal etlge substantially equal in length to the vvirlth oil one oil saiel slots and arlapteol to overlie and register with the upper entl edge at a slot in a shinglein the eourse neatbelow vvhen lairl on a root, saiel shingles vvhen thus laidl requiring ap proximately 2% square leet ot material to cover one hnntlrerl square feet at root surlace ' lln testimony vvhereolt we have a'tfirredl our signatures.

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